


Writing Our Future

by robertstanion



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Backstory, F/M, Fluff, Wedding Fluff, high school! paulkins, no nightmare time spoilers, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robertstanion/pseuds/robertstanion
Summary: Emma and Paul get married. Paul goes back to the place it all started in his mind on the dancefloor.
Relationships: Jane Perkins/Tom Houston, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Writing Our Future

**Author's Note:**

> a mentioned tw: parental death and car crash but it isnt anything mAJor and only menTIOned by EMma

He’d spent months preparing for it. He knew her parents were dead, so he had no father to ask permission for her hand in marriage, but, luckily for him, she _did_ have a sister. A sister, who was married herself, who knew what was expected from a wedding, the very same wedding that Emma had dragged along, then got severely drunk, almost threw up on her dress, and had to be carried home. He smiled fondly at the memory as he took his seat on Jane’s couch, keeping his blazer on, buttoning and unbuttoning it. He’d came directly from work, because he couldn’t wait any longer. He couldn’t wait any longer to marry Emma Perkins.

* * *

They met when they were only kids, well, the back end of being a teenager, but that was considered being a kid. She’d known Ted through a family friend and Paul was relatively close with Ted when he wasn’t teasing the hell out of him for being too tall, or too thin, or too nerdy. They had a small group of friends, consisting of himself, Charlotte, Bill Woodward, Ted and Melissa. Unfortunately for Paul, that _did_ mean that, with his friend group now recognising his obvious crush on Emma after they went to watch Brigadoon at Hatchetfield High, that it was relatively easy to convince Emma to join in on their shenanigans.

He’d walked into Beanies after one of his extra curriculars one day, and Charlotte waved him over, holding up a cup of coffee to him, that he hoped was a caramel frap. He noticed another girl, who’s hair was tied up into a bun, who was wearing a green sweater that was only slightly too big for her, and Paul didn’t think too much of her. She was sat beside Ted, so he came to the conclusion that she was Ted’s new girlfriend. It didn’t surprise him anymore, for he had a new one practically every week. He hadn’t expected though, as he slid into his seat beside Bill and looked up, to see the face of Emma Perkins staring back at him with a wide smile on her face.

After that, she started hanging around more. They usually had a set seating plan at their table in Beanies, where it would be Charlotte, Bill and Paul on one side of the table, and Ted and Emma on the other side, with Melissa occasionally joining them if she had time and wasn’t too cooperated with her cat. However, after Ted had a particularly bad mental breakdown over a girl who he’d grown attached to, Charlotte took Emma’s side, Bill moved along one, and Emma sat beside Paul instead.

About four months in, Emma elbowed him hard in the side with a disgusted look on her face, and he spluttered on the sip of coffee that he was halfway done with. “Hey, asshole!” She said, and he grabbed a napkin, wiping his face.

“What?” He asked and looked at her, and she held out her phone to him.

“I want your phone number.”

“What?!” He asked again and she rolled her eyes.

“Come on. If we’re gonna be friends, then we may as well have some attempt at communicating with each other, shouldn’t we?” She scoffed, but then she smiled.

Most of the time, Paul found it very hard to understand if Emma was joking or genuinely mad. She often carried around a miserable expression on her face, yet she always wore it so beautifully. He knew he’d fallen for her the night he watched Brigadoon, for every time he looked at the photos that had been pinned to the board at his school, and Emma caught his eye, he felt himself blush and a flutter danced around his heart. He’d fallen hard, which certainly wasn’t like him, and he’d originally done everything in his power to stop it. Then he gave up, and decided he wanted to try with her, so he handed his number over to her.

After that, they spent nights texting on their phones, late at night. Paul found out about Emma’s shitty home life, and how her older sister’s biology professor was a better father to the both of them than her real parents had ever been. It had made Paul smile. She never failed to make him smile. He also found out that she swore a lot, and she was planning to sell drugs for a living. She’d then added she was joking, and she wanted to go into biology, but if worst came to worst, it was a good paying option. She also revealed her love for Guatamala after her school went on a trip there last year, and how she wanted to leave Hatchetfield permanently one day and live somewhere like that.

As she opened up, so did Paul. He started off by stating he was autistic, and he explained that he may not understand social cues as well as other people for he often got facial expressions and sarcasm mixed up with negative associations, and he also explained about his stimming, and how it was what Ted made fun of him for sometimes. Emma had said she was going to drop kick Ted the next time she saw him, and he smiled wider. He revealed he wanted to go into something after school that involved a lot of technology for he liked to analyse things, and he explained he’d most likely go into his dad’s office for employment, but he didn’t mind it. He’d also told her about his hatred for musicals and how Hatchetfield was the only home he’d ever known and how he’d never wanted to leave before, and nothing would really persuade him to leave.

Emma said that maybe she wouldn’t leave after all.

His heart fluttered again, and he became flustered and sweaty as he tried to speak but failed. When he’d calmed down enough, he’d told her he had to go and hung up, rolling over and screaming into his pillow.

Little did he know that was going to be the first of many gestures that were to come.

They did become closer, as many expected them to, and if she was having a shitty time, he’d come home to find her curled up under his covers, sleeping. Sometimes she’d be in his hoodie, other times she wouldn’t be. On those days, he’d sit at his desk and revise while she slept, and when she woke, he’d be there for her to talk to, but only if she wanted too. Most of the time she wouldn’t, and Paul respected that. Sometimes she’d leave after that, but on the rare occasions that she stayed, he found he treasured those the most.

They spent a lot more time with each other after school, without studying. They went to go and get coffee sometimes, and he let her complain to him, and he let her spill her worries on to him, and he’d assist the best he could. She let him do the same. She let him talk about his hyperfixations, and his problems, and they managed really well, which did surprise their friendship group. They had to remain comforted in each other’s company, and they didn’t need anybody else.

Their first kiss was shared under the stars. Emma had wanted to spend the night, and Paul had decided to take her on to the roof of his house. He’d been 19 then, and he hadn’t wanted anything else. She’d been looking at him with eyes swirling with awe as he talked about the different constellations that he could see and what it meant. He had been interrupted once, and it was when Emma grabbed his cheek and kissed him. It had only lasted a split second, but it had happened. Paul had blinked, she’d gone red, but he smiled and moved closer, kissing her back. He felt her smile before he saw it. They became each other’s partner that night.

She did end up in Guatamala. It had been in a rough patch of their relationship, where their schedules kept clashing, so they were spending more time apart from each other, and Paul detected their flare fading. After a particularly bad round, Emma slammed a plane ticket down in front of him, tears in her eyes. “I’m going.”

He took it, and inspected it. Once he realised what she was implying, and he looked she had her bags packed. His eyes widened, truly fearing that it was their end, but she shook her head.

“Paul, none of us are happy right now. I can’t stay here. I want to, I really do, but…”

“You don’t have to move to another place, Em…you can just say that we’re breaking up…” Paul felt his voice waver then and he looked away.

“No, it isn’t like that, though I just- _I_ need time, okay? Not away from you, it’s never been you that’s the problem it’s…” she laughed softly, and he noticed a shake to her voice. “My parents got in a car wreck last Tuesday…Jane wanted me to attend the funeral…so it’s kinda fucked with me, and I should have told you sooner but-“

He looked up at her, and held his arms out to her. They hadn’t moved in with each other, per se, but she did have clothes she kept at his place for when she spent the night, that had become more often before their schedules had clashed. He watched her shuffle across the room before her face crumpled, and she collapsed in his arms, finding her safe place there. He didn’t stop her as she cried. He held her gently and stroked her back, moving her hair out of her face, but he kept her talking. He knew she hated silence, and she particularly hated it when she was at her most vulnerable. He didn’t mind that she was going to Guatamala, because he couldn’t control her, and she knew she was loyal, so he didn’t have to worry. He’d miss her, but it wasn’t like it’d be a permanent thing. Even she’d said she wouldn’t want to be apart from him for too long.

He was there when she was on her way to her new adventure, and he was there when she sent her first message of her with something that she called a Coatimundi, but Paul just thought it looked like a rat.

* * *

That had been when they were 22, and Paul was 26 now. They did long distance and made it work. She came home for the big events regarding Jane, such as her wedding, and her birthdays, and Pauls birthday, and Christmases, but if there wasn’t anything to celebrate, she’d stay home in Guatamala.

This time, however, Emma announced she was coming home for good. It had sparked something in Paul, that had moved him to buying a ring. It was pricier than he’d hoped, but it was a ring that had Emma’s name written all over it. It was only a silver band with a small diamond, but it was simple. Emma didn’t want anything flashy, because then she’d feel guilty about Paul spending too much on her. He hoped she didn’t get mad at her for this.

He looked at Jane and took a breath as she bounced her four-year-old son on her leg, and Paul smiled. “I’m asking you, as Emma’s sister, for her hand in marriage.”

“What?” Jane asked him, and Paul nodded.

“I know…I didn’t think I’d be doing this either but-but I got the ring, and I really do love and appreciate her. I couldn’t think of another girl to spend my life with. She’s funny, she’s witty, she’s kind…she has a fucked up sleep schedule and a fucked sense of humour, but she’s considerate, and she gets me, and I get her…I missed her while she was away, and she’s coming home for good. I really want to spend the rest of my life together so please…would this be okay?”

“Paul, it’s the modern day. You don’t need to ask me if it’s okay to marry my little sister…but I appreciate the gesture, and for that, I’m giving you the go ahead.”

* * *

He proposed to her, and he’d started stuttering, and she’d smiled and rummaged around in her pocket for something before dropping to one knee in front of him, holding out a ring box for him. “Paul Matthews, you fuckin dork, will you marry me?” She asked, and Paul stopped the speech he was in the middle of to look at her, blinking as she giggled. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She kissed him quickly and put the ring on his hand, taking the ring he’d bought for her, sliding it on her own hand.

“Holy shit the amount of panic attacks I had leading up to now and you just-“

“It’s a Perkins instinct.” She said and smiled as she threw herself in his arms, met with the familiar grip of Paul’s protectiveness around her. She looked up at him, and kissed him softly, with him kissing her back, the two of them smiling. He cupped the back of her head, holding it to his chest, and she didn’t bother fighting, allowing herself to lie against her boyf- _fiance’s_ chest. They sat in perfect silence for a little while before Emma looked up at him again and spoke. “You wanna go get coffee?”

He laughed then, a very obnoxious laugh she’d never heard before, one that flourished with happiness and relief. He’d pulled her closer to his chest then and nodded, smiling wide, and there was a gloss over his eyes that was almost like tears, but wasn’t quite that. He nodded and kissed her forehead, being gentler with her than usual, but he was a gentle giant anyway. “I would _love_ to go get coffee with you, Emma.”

* * *

Looking back on it now, with Emma in his arms, he realised how they’d matured and grown as people. Emma tugged on his arm again and he laughed as he let her drag him to the dancefloor. He was careful not to stand on her skirt as she beamed and lay her head against his chest once more, stealing his blazer, wrapping it around his shoulders. Married. Officially, they were married. Mr and Mrs Matthews. It was a thought Paul never thought would happen, and yet, it did. It happened to him, more importantly.

As they danced their first dance as a married couple, he couldn’t take his eyes off of his wife. He knew there were dozens of eyes watching _them,_ and he knew that him watching Emma with intent didn’t mean anything to her as much as it used to, but she meant the world to him, and he hoped that he was her world as well. He loved Emma Perkins, and he didn’t have any chance of holding back on that thought anymore. They were officially official, and nothing would ever bring them harm again.

**Author's Note:**

> im a secret paulkins slut and a not so secret ted kin, anyway.


End file.
